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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. season — in sport
  3. content — happy
  4. charge — in control
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. hand — in cards
  7. pop — soda
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. season — of the year
  11. hand — help
  12. fine — all right
  13. rash — a series
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. bat — the animal
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. pop — to visit
  21. fine — high quality
  22. charge — a price
  23. content — the amount
  24. pop — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com